The ways we write can be as important as what it is we write, says Bethanie Blanchard. The little rituals or habits, the strange superstitions we have about composing, the things that must occur if we are to have any success.
Books
The international agreement to gouge e-book customers
E-book prices have soared due to an international agreement between publishers. But why are non-US customers being gouged even more?
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Renewables are the way of the future
Crikey readers have their say.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: The era of Books Without Borders
Crikey readers have their say.
Re-writing literary history: what happens when you kill the main character
Harry Potter author JK Rowling recently announced that she nearly killed off sidekick Ron Weasley midway through the series. Jon Methven examines what would happen if some of literature’s favourite characters had been edited off the page.
Google launches ebooks in Oz
Aussie readers can now purchase an enormous range of Google ebooks directly from Google, as well as bookseller partners including Booktopia and Dymocks.
Grey areas of madness: an interview with Jon Ronson, on The Psychopath Test
Jon Ronson is well-known for his journalism and his books Them: Adventures with Extremists, and The Men Who Stare at Goats. He chats with Angela Meyer about his latest book The Psychopath Test.
Christos Tsiolkas: a slap to the ABC for killing The Book Show
Author Christos Tsiolkas has attacked the decision to axe Radio National’s Book Show. He writes in an open letter to the ABC board …
Book review clichés demystified
Confused by what ‘ambitious’ means in a literary book review? It just means the reviewer didn’t finish the book, says Eric Jett and Alex Shephard, as they dispel the most common clichés from the literary reviewing world.
20 classics in 2011 #6: The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch
The latest book in Angela Meyer’s project to read 20 classic, modern-classic or cult books in 2011 was The Sea, The Sea, by Iris Murdoch, a much admired and prolific author.
My Cup Of Tea: Book barns are dead, long live cosy indies
We can’t save big book barns, but we can save independent cultural retail. It’s independent book stores and music retailers that offer something the big chains rarely mustered: character, passion and charm.
Short fiction and Spineless Wonders
Crikey book blogger Angela Meyer discusses short fiction with Bronwyn Mehan, founder of new Australian publishing company Spineless Wonders.
Scoop: the winner of the 2011 Mens’ Franklin Award
W H Chong reveals the winner of the 2011 Men’s Franklin Award — the new term for the Miles Franklin, since no ladies are allowed — as well as discussing the new Women’s Franklin Award.
Daily Proposition: Read something ‘Australian’
What is “Australian” writing? In the inaugural Miles Franklin award oration on Tuesday, Peter Temple gave the question a red-hot go. It poses some interesting examples to read, says Siobhan Argent.
Angela Meyer: writer and e-book self-publisher extraordinaire
Literary Minded’s Angela Meyer has decided to self-publish some of her popular short stories as e-books. They can be purchased for the bargain price of 99c each.
REDGroup collapse: few lifelines as publishers slash orders
Australia’s largest book retailer is on the verge of total collapse, with administrators likely to break up the Borders and Angus & Robertson chains to sell to other retailers.
Life in the Amazon: e-books outsell the printed word
Powerful bookseller Amazon announced that for the first time since it began selling e-books — and its succesful Kindle e-reader — four years ago, it now sells 105 e-books for every 100 printed book.
The book covers that never made the shelf
Book covers can be the most critical aspects of the entire publishing process, and when a new book is launched, up to 50 prototype cover designs get mocked up. These covers didn’t make the cut, but they are still intriguing works of beauty.
Mystery, strangeness and coming-of-age: an interview with author Christopher Currie
In Christopher Currie’s atmospheric debut novel The Ottoman Motel the parents of a young boy disappear in a small, strange town. Book blogger Angela Meyer sits down for an in depth chat with Currie.
Dear customers shamelessly pillaging our discounted books
Jen Mueller pens a letter to the customers harassing her at the liquidation bookstore where she works, noting that, sadly, a petition will not be enough to keep this business out of the hands of administrators.
A Prize of One’s Own: sisters create a lit award for themselves
The 2001 Miles Franklin shortlist was a “sausage-fest” with no Aussie female author making the cut, again. It was enough to anger writer Sophie Cunningham to start up an award similar to Britain’s acclaimed Orange Prize.
35 years and Blue Skies hasn’t dated
Helen Hodgman’s novel Blue Skies, a dark tale of a young mother trapped in suburban Tassie, is wonky and just a little bit sleazy. Imogen Baratta gives it two thumbs up.
20 classics in 2011 #6: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The latest book in Angela Meyer’s project to read 20 classic, modern-classic or cult books in 2011 is the dystopia fictional classic Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
Read library books on your Kindle
Amazon’s Kindle e-reader gets a lot of flack for hurting local booksellers and now 11,000 libraries in the US will soon offer Kindle e-books for short-term lending.
